Teaching Filipino students about their maritime territory has become more urgent, Sen. Erwin Tulfo argued Sunday, pointing to a fresh assertion by Chinese scholars that the country’s northernmost province falls under Beijing’s sovereignty.
The senator wants his Senate Bill 1625, the proposed “West Philippine Sea Education Act,” moved quickly through the chamber. He describes the measure as a tool “to repel disinformation about the country’s territory.” Under its provisions, the Department of Education would be tasked with training teachers and educators on West Philippine Sea instruction.
At the center of Tulfo’s renewed push is a June 30 symposium where Chinese academics characterized Batanes as a “natural geographical extension” of Taiwan and asserted sovereignty over the province. The senator rejected that framing outright.
“Before, they claimed that the West Philippine Sea is theirs; now Batanes is also their territory? What’s next? Palawan? Zambales? Cagayan?” he said.
For Tulfo, the moment the claim surfaced carried its own message. It landed as the Philippines observed ten years since the 2016 arbitral ruling, the decision that struck down China’s sweeping South China Sea claims where they cut into the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“It is ironic that we encounter this claim, in time when we just celebrated a decade of the Philippines’ victory at the 2016 Arbitral Ruling declaring that the West Philippine Sea is ours,” he said.
The same anniversary has energized separate efforts in the House of Representatives, where support has been building for legislation designating July 12 as West Philippine Sea Victory Day.
Akbayan Rep. Jose Manuel Diokno framed the pair of pending House measures as a way to preserve the ruling in public memory, urging colleagues to enact House Bills 1626 and 1625. The first would establish the July 12 commemoration; the second would bring West Philippine Sea history and geography into primary and secondary classrooms in both public and private schools.
“By educating our youth, we help ensure that the next generation will safeguard what is rightfully ours as a nation,” Diokno said.
Local governments have already moved ahead of Congress on the commemoration. Palawan province, Cebu City, and the town of Labrador in Pangasinan have each declared July 12 as Victory Day, while Baguio City marks the date as West Philippine Sea Awareness Day. Akbayan Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula pressed lawmakers to follow that lead, saying it was time for Congress “to match the courage of our LGUs and pass measures that would keep our victory in the hearts and minds of every Filipino.”
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima tied the classroom bill and the Victory Day proposal to the same concern, arguing that young Filipinos in particular need to grasp their rights and the weight of the ruling as false narratives about the waterway circulate.
The government reinforced that stance as it observed the anniversary. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reaffirmed its commitment to defending Philippine sovereignty and maritime entitlements, with chairman Secretary Eduardo SL Oban Jr. stressing that the country’s position rests on international law “not by power or coercion.” He described the award as final and legally binding under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Oban also credited those who give the ruling meaning beyond the courtroom — the uniformed personnel, public servants, fisherfolk, and coastal communities whose work sustains the country’s maritime interests. A decade on, he said, the decision “continues to be recognized and cited in international jurisprudence, reinforcing the rule of law as the strongest foundation for the peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.”
